The Best Classic Chili – This traditional chili recipe is just like mom used to make with ground beef, beans, and a simple homemade blend of chili seasonings.
This classic chili is perfect for a weeknight meal because it can be made in minutes. The only thing to chop is an onion.
How do you make good homemade chili?
- Heat olive in a large soup pot.
- Add chopped onion and cook for 5 minutes.
- Add ground beef and break it apart with a wooden spoon.
- Cook for 6-7 minutes.
- Add chili powder, cumin, sugar, tomato paste, garlic powder, salt, pepper, and optional cayenne.
- Stir until well combined.
- Add diced tomatoes, kidney beans, beef broth, and tomato sauce.
- Stir well.
- Simmer for 20-25 minutes.
- Let the chili rest for 5-10 minutes before serving.
What do you top chili with?
In addition to the chili ingredients listed in this recipe for chili, you may also want to have these things as toppings.
- shredded cheddar cheese
- sour cream
- sliced green onions
- saltine crackers or oyster crackers
- diced avocado
What goes well with chili for dinner?
I’ve been playing around with this chili recipe for the past few months, making it many times. My family didn’t mind the repetition at all because I really do believe that I ended up with the best chili ever!
Watch the step by step recipe video for this chili recipe below.
The Best Classic Chili Recipe
The Best Classic Chili - This traditional chili recipe is just like mom used to make with ground beef, beans, and a simple homemade blend of chili seasonings.
Servings: 6 servings
Calories: 334kcal
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Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 medium yellow onion -diced
- 1 pound 90% lean ground beef
- 2 1/2 tablespoons chili powder
- 2 tablespoons ground cumin
- 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
- 2 tablespoons tomato paste
- 1 tablespoon garlic powder
- 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
- 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
- 1/4 teaspoon ground cayenne pepper* -optional
- 1 1/2 cups beef broth
- 1 (15 oz.) can petite diced tomatoes
- 1 (16 oz.) can red kidney beans, drained and rinsed
- 1 (8 oz.) can tomato sauce
Instructions
- Add the olive oil to a large soup pot and place it over medium-high heat for two minutes. Add the onion. Cook for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Add the ground beef to the pot. Break it apart with a wooden spoon. Cook for 6-7 minutes, until the beef is browned, stirring occasionally.
- Add the chili powder, cumin, sugar, tomato paste, garlic powder, salt, pepper, and optional cayenne. Stir until well combined.
- Add the broth, diced tomatoes (with their juice), drained beans, and tomato sauce. Stir well.
- Bring the liquid to a low boil. Then, reduce the heat (low to medium-low) to gently simmer the chili, uncovered, for 20-25 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Remove the pot from the heat. Let the chili rest for 5-10 minutes before serving.
Notes
I typically skip the cayenne pepper because I have a young kiddo. Then, I put out some hot sauce for those adults that want to add some spiciness to their chili.
Nutrition
Serving: 1/6th of the recipe | Calories: 334kcal | Carbohydrates: 34g | Protein: 25g | Fat: 11g | Saturated Fat: 3g | Cholesterol: 49mg | Sodium: 1249mg | Potassium: 1110mg | Fiber: 9g | Sugar: 10g | Vitamin A: 1445IU | Vitamin C: 12.8mg | Calcium: 99mg | Iron: 7.5mg
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Allie Patch says
Yes! This is delicious!
Ron says
Very good, quick to make too. I changed a few things. I cut out the sugar. (Hate sweet tomato sauces) cut down the cumin to 1 Tbs, cut the salt to 1/2 Tsp and used Swanson’s 50% beef broth, used Hunts diced fire roasted tomatoes, also I added one stalk of celery diced and 1/2 of a green pepper diced and sautéed along with the onion. Served with Fritos of course. . Will make again and again.
Holly Black says
My husband and I are foodies all the way. We’ve tried several chili recipes, and so far—this is the winner!!! 🙌 Its also the least involved as far as prep time etc., and the ingredients list isn’t huge. Furthermore, it’s awesome that you can used so much canned stuff (generally stuff we have in hand) to make something so yummy! I’m excited that fall is nearly upon us again so I can start making this chili again for this year! We made it several times last year. 👌
Marcy says
Finally!! A flavorful chili that is quick, easy, and delicious, and that doesn’t skimp on the seasonings!
I was short on time and the kids were coming to dinner, requesting chili. Anyone who knows me knows that chili, to me, is a sort of art form. No two batches of my chili are ever the same. I load it with whatever veggies I have on hand and have experimented with coffee, pumpkin, beer, honey, and a myriad of other flavorful things over the years.
But I didn’t have time, or the ingredients, for all that fancy stuff today, this impromptu staycation at a rental house in the Blue Ridge Mountains. So I googled “easy chili” and this was the first one to come up. Didn’t have any sugar and figured it would be okay without, and then, like a beacon in the night, I spied the jar of honey I’d brought to make my grandtwins the grilled peanut butter/marshmellow/honey/banana sandwiches they love.
Holy cow…I had this chili simmering within 15 minutes and it. Is. So. Good. I’m not even hungry, and I can’t stop sampling spoonfuls of it.
Thanks for this amazing recipe that taught me I don’t need a whole weekend to agonize over perfecting my chili…it can now be a weeknight staple.
My tweaks: added fresh garlic and a green pepper to the oil and onion.
Added a can of corn in with the beans and rinsed them all together.
Spices: as written, but went generous on the amounts (heaping chili powder, cumin was almost empty and had just a little over 2 T, so it all went in, hefty amount of cayenne, and powdered garlic in addition to the fresh.)
Didn’t have tomato sauce, so used a 28 oz. can of crushed tomatoes AND the beef broth.
This made my chili the perfect consistency for us, given that I added a whole green pepper and can of corn. We like it somewhere between soupy and so thick it seems no liquids were used in the making of this chili. Lol. We like to sop up the stewy juices with honey cornbread for max yum.
Reading through the previous reviews, and reviews of other recipes in general, it never ceases to amaze me how some people just absolutely lack any sort of creativity in the kitchen. Lol. “It was too thick,” or “it was too soupy… ” so, did you like the taste otherwise? If you’re cooking it and it seems too thick, add more liquid! More beef broth, or crushed tomatoes, or even water! If it’s too soupy for you, thicken it up with a little extra tomato paste or some pumpkin or even more meat, beans, or veggies. Too sweet? Don’t add the sugar! You don’t eat meat? Use veggie crumbles or just add more veggies and use vegetable broth instead of beef broth! It’s not rocket science, folks!!!
Anyway, thanks for the great quick and easy recipe…I see a lot more spontaneous chili nights in our future!
Linda Bradley says
I have been making chili forever, and I thought this was a great basic recipe. Did not add the sugar, and I personally thought it was a bit salty, so I used water instead of beef broth (and only 1 cup as I don’t like my chili too soupy.) Added a chopped green pepper and doubled the beans. Delicious!
Thanks Amanda!
MJ Roth says
Although the recipe is great, the time to prepare the recipe is not accurate. If you add up the cooking times listed in the instructions, just the actual cook time is 39 minutes. Then you need time to chop the onion and measure/add the other 13 ingredients. And you must let the chili rest for 5-10 minutes before serving. The total time is OVER 1 HOUR.
Barbara Simmons says
Great chilli and quick to make. Served over rice and it was delicious .
Jade says
it was so good. i tweaked the recipe slightly; didn’t use any sugar, used no salt added tomato paste and sauce, did 2 tablespoons of garlic powder instead of 1, used a whole 15oz can of beef broth instead of cup akd a half, and i added large elbow macaroni noodles. best chili i ever had. next time i plan to add Worcestershire sauce
Danny says
Exceptionally good. Honestly I held out in tomato paste and added ketchup. Made it extremely good.
kate says
am making this now.i added green pepper, more onions, fresh garlic with the powder, more cumin, lots of chili powder, celery. actually I just needed a base recipe & went from there, tasting and so far, pretty good. it may take a bit longer to make, but I’m ok with that.
Kei says
My family and I love this chili! I’m not a huge fan of cooking, I’m more of a baker. But I have a husband and two little ones to feed so I do a decent amount of cooking anyway. I always thought chili would be too complicated for me to ever get right so I never bothered, until one night my husband suggested chili to go with cornbread we had and I found this recipe! I can’t wait to try it again, but next time I will reduce or cut out the sugar (husband liked it but I thought it could do without), add more veggies like people have suggested, and maybe try white beans instead of kidney. Yum!
Chad says
Added some green pepper and some jalapeño. It was quick, easy, and tasted great!
Freda Pon says
This recipe caught my eye because of the simple steps and numerous positive reviews. The last few chili recipes I tried didn’t appeal to my finicky husband and son. This recipe was so easy to make. And more importantly, it was a hit! I finally found the perfect chili recipe for my family. This will definitely be a regular rotation to our dinners. The only change I made was using a little more ground beef. I had 1-1/4 pound defrosted and used used the whole thing. I didn’t add the cayenne pepper because I don’t tolerate spicy foods, and it was the perfect amount of heat. Thank you!!